French authorities deployed their police forces during the last Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Saint-Denis in the belief that the Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 people died, was caused by hooligans.
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According to the report carried out by the French sports minister, Michel Cadot, and to which The Guardian has had access, the harsh treatment received by English fans, including pepper spray attacks, was due to the police being alerted. of the possible behavior of the Liverpool fans taking as a reference what happened in 1989 in Hillsborough.
This was the tragedy of 1989
That day, before the FA Cup semi-final match between Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool, 97 Reds fans lost their lives. But this was not due to the actions of the fans themselves, but, as the 2016 trial found, to the negligence of the South Yorkshire Police and the police officer in charge, David Duckenfield.
Image of Liverpool fans affected by the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy in 1989
This same trial also clarified that the behavior of the Liverpool fans did not contribute to the disaster.
The meeting on May 28 between Real Madrid and Liverpool had to be delayed 36 minutes due to security breaches in the vicinity of the Stade de France, where false tickets, robberies, violent attacks and an assault on the stadium itself occurred. countryside.
The outrage of the victims
Louise Brooks, who lost her brother Andrew in the Hillsborough disaster, told The Guardian that this is “a complete misunderstanding of the disaster”.
“Liverpool fans have been treated as ‘hooligans’, based on a mistake of something that happened 33 years ago. And this almost caused another disaster in Paris for a new generation of Liverpool fans,” said Brooks.
Margaret Aspinall, who chaired the Hillsborough Victims Aid Association and lost her son James in the disaster, said what was described in the report “is a disgrace” that confirms her worst suspicions.
“False information about what happened in Hillsborough was given to the police of another country. This shows the power of the lies told by the police of this country. Lies that continue to be believed and repeated by many people,” Aspinall added.